


Two Friends

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Era, Childhood Friends, Ealdor, Fluff, Growing Up Together, Hopeful Ending, Humor, M/M, Merlin is a Little Shit, Post-Slash, Pre-Canon, Pre-Slash, Sad Ending, Slight Canon Divergence, will is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26024134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The story of Merlin and Will’s friendshipOrFour chapters that follow Merlin and Will's adventures growing up into the adults that we now know and love.
Relationships: Merlin & Will (Merlin), Merlin/Will (Merlin)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

In small farming villages such as Ealdor, raising children was an effort shared between all of the parents and elders. Growing up, Merlin and the other kids would be passed around from one person’s care to another as their parents worked in the fields throughout the week. Merlin knew Will as far back as he could remember, but he would never forget the day they became lifelong friends. 

It happened in Merlin’s eighth summer. He was getting chased by Tobias, a rather large bully,  _ again _ . Merlin was often his target, and that day the nasty boy was carrying a large spider in his hand and planned on throwing it on Merlin when he got close enough. Merlin had run as fast as he could but Tobias was right behind him. He had made the mistake of looking behind him and ended up tripping and falling. Tobias closed in and fear had shot through Merlin’s body. Before he could think, the large pile of firewood next to Tobias toppled and knocked the boy over. Shocked at the sudden events, he looked up to see if anyone had seen the accident and met the eyes of Will, who was staring back white as a sheet. 

Unfortunately, the children were under Winifred’s care that day. Winifred was a stern old woman who looked as weathered as a scarecrow, and believed that discipline was the only way to deliver children from their evil ways. Winifred must have heard the wood fall, because she ran up to the boys with a look on her face that could make a grown man revert back to the old religion. 

“What is going on here!” She demanded. By now Tobias had dragged himself out of the wood pile and started to wail. Merlin knew that it was all for show, but now was not the time to say so.

“You. Explain. Now.” Winifred pointed at Will. He gulped. This was it, Merlin thought, he was going to get into so much trouble.

“I- Uh-  _ I-  _ ” Will turned a panicked glance at Merlin.

“Out with it.” Winifred poked him in the abdomen with the wooden spoon that she always kept in her apron.

“It was my fault!” Will looked just as surprised as Merlin felt when he said this. “Toby was chasing Merlin again, so I knocked over the firewood onto him.” 

There was no way that the small boy could have sent all that heavy wood as far as it landed, but Winifred didn’t seem to care. She grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away, probably to his mother. Merlin got up and ran home before Tobias could seek any revenge. 

***

Later, Merlin found Will sulking on the edge of the woods. 

“Why didn’t you tell her that I used magic? You didn’t need to get in trouble.” Merlin had asked himself the same question all afternoon, and just couldn’t understand. 

“Because Tobias is a bully,” Will answered after he finished poking a centipede with a stick and crossed his arms.

“But he didn’t get in trouble, you did,” Merlin pointed out.

“The big oaf was bawling his eyes out and Winnie would never have believed you.” Will took up the stick again and started to aimlessly doodle in the dirt. “Besides, my father was a soldier who protected innocent people, so it’s about time that I protect innocent people too.” Merlin knew what had happened to Will’s father, everyone in the village did, so he knew not to say anything. 

“I’ll race you to the creek,” Merlin offered, wanting to change the subject. The other boy looked up and his face split into a huge grin. 

“Eat my dust!” Will yelled, and the two sprinted off as fast as their feet could take them. 

***

They hadn’t left each other's sides ever since. The boys were attached at the hip, always working and playing together. It helped that Hunith was constantly helping Will’s mother. Both had lost their husbands, but Will’s mom had many more children and struggled to keep things under control without the extra help. The families ended up sharing most meals and chores together, which often worked in their favor. The boys proved to be a great team and would finish projects with amazing speed. They could even whip out a sizable fishing net in a few evenings once they got into a routine, taking turns holding the twine taught as the other formed the knots. 

Hunith took it upon herself to teach both of them how to read. Will liked reading just as much as Merlin did. At first, he would only read books that Merlin had already read, so that Merlin could easily help him out when he didn’t recognize something, or talk about the story with him, but eventually the two developed their own tastes. Merlin always liked to read for enjoyment, whereas Will wanted to learn everything that he could in order to better himself and his situation. He memorized facts and discussed useful ideas with Merlin. One night, after reading about a book on business, Will declared that one day he would become a merchant, travel south, and trade fine goods. Merlin just laughed at him, impressed with his vision of grandeur. Merlin had always preferred stories about heroes over books on economics. His favorite were the ones where the main character’s uniqueness was actually what ended up saving the day. It made him feel better reading that the underdog could fight against adversity and win, but deep down he felt that Will’s wild dreams were practical compared to his. 

As they got older, Will didn’t need to help out with his younger siblings as much, and often slept over at Merlin’s house. His stays gradually got so frequent, and long in duration, that Hunith had in all manners but legal, adopted him. They would storm into the house at meal times, never late, and always shoulder to shoulder. They sat like that too. No one would ever see one without the other. Always laughing, making fun of each other, and scheming. Two friends couldn’t get closer, and yet, they managed to do just that. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This next chapter starts 6 years after the first.

“Show yourselves!” Old man Simmons hollered at the empty street. 

“Oh shit-” Will squirmed, realizing they had cut it a bit close this time. 

“Shhhh!” Merlin hissed at him.

“There are only eleven families in this village. I will find you!” 

This was a rich statement considering that the man couldn’t track them down the previous 185 times the boys stole his food. Both were trying to breathe quietly while holding in laughter, and it was proving to be very difficult. They pressed up against the back of a house as flat as possible as the old man stomped in the opposite direction as them, spade in one hand, and vengeance in the other. Simmons took his apple tree very seriously, and boys thought that they were seriously delicious. The bag hanging off of Merlin’s shoulder was bulging with apples, and the weight of it was digging into his shoulder. He was able to magic the apples straight into his bag at a much greater speed this time compared to last. He wondered about keeping a record of their times to see how fast they could get. They waited a few more seconds in silence, holding their breath the best they could after running to hide.

“Has he gone?” Will loudly whispered into Merlin’s ear. His hot breath hit his cheek. 

“I’ll check.” Merlin tried to ignore how Will’s breath made him blush.

He peered around the corner and nearly jumped out of his skin, the old man was standing but two feet away with his back to them. Merlin’s heart dropped to his stomach and before the man had a chance to turn around he desperately grabbed at Will and shoved him to the other side of the house. Merlin, so scared of Will loudly protesting, immediately threw his hand over his mouth and pressed him flat against the wall. 

Will’s scared eyes connected with Merlin’s as the two waited to see if they managed to escape. Luckily, footsteps never came their way.

“We may have cut that a little too close,” Merlin suggested quietly, maintaining eye contact with Will while removing his hand from his lips. His hand felt hot from the contact, and now he couldn’t drag his eyes away from the gentle curve of the lips before him. Before he could regain his senses, Will surged forwards and kissed Merlin. He pulled back with the same force that he initiated with, making the kiss so short Merlin couldn’t even react. 

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry, Merlin I-” Will’s panic took over and choked off the sentence. Merlin smiled at his friend's flustered blush.

“It’s okay, I uh- I have actually wanted to do that for a long time.” Merlin scratched the back of his head, not quite sure how to continue, “could I-?” Will started shaking his head yes, so Merlin leaned in and kissed him a second time. He could taste a stolen apple on his lips. It didn’t last long, as neither of them had kissed anyone else before. When they broke apart they were both smiling and beet red. Merlin’s heart was beating out of his chest, in disbelief that not only had he kissed his best friend, but that his best friend had  _ wanted _ to do the same. 

“We should probably get going before that old crone shows up again.” Will grabbed an apple from Merlin’s bag, tossed it into the air, and wiggled his eyebrows. The two laughed and any awkwardness between them disappeared, both couldn’t wipe the smiles off of their faces for the rest of the day.

While the two never explicitly talked about it, being the young teenagers that they were, their new closeness never really ended either. Hands were constantly touching each other's arms and backs, glances lingered during late nights around the fire, and after particularly close calls the two would kiss each other senseless behind the barn. Merlin was happy with Will, there was a lot of comfort in having a person know everything about you, and still want to be close by your side. He could be himself around Will, and not have to worry about being different. He loved Will for not treating his magic as something to be feared or cherished. He just accepted it, as if it was an ordinary skill to only be used when situations called for it. Merlin might as well have been a potter for all Will had cared. All that mattered was that Merlin was himself. 

***

He wished they could have carried on like that for the rest of their lives, but, by their sixteenth summer, work kept them busy during most hours of the day and the romantic side of their relationship faded away. Will had gotten a lot stronger, and was one of the village's best farm hands. He could till the earth, and cut, tie, and move hay bales with extreme efficiency. Will would wake up with the sun and come home at dusk dirty and tired. Merlin, who was constantly reminded by others of his slight stature, was always in some other field harvesting their food, in the creek fishing, or in the town helping repair tools and houses. All the while, no one would talk to him. People were still suspicious of his missing father, and all the strange incidents that surrounded him as a child. Villages are notorious for being suspicious of outsiders, hoping that they don’t bring any change with them. What people don’t know is that they can be even more suspicious of those who could cause change from within. He could go days without a full conversation with anyone other than Will and his mother. His life turned into a very lonely one. Not to mention, the older he got, the more careful he became hiding his magic. He had to suppress it whenever his instincts leaped out and tried to fix things, like a jerky tug-of-war match that he always just barely won. It was unpleasant, to say the least. Merlin was afraid that it was only a matter of time when he would get caught and really do himself in. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter happens shortly after the previous one.
> 
> Just as a warning, this chapter includes fire and burning buildings. No one is injured from said fire.

Merlin woke up to the sounds of screaming. He pulled himself out of his sleep as quickly as he could, eyes having a hard time focusing, and stumbled over to wake his mother. By the time she was awake Merlin’s nose burned with the smell of smoke. Fear gripped his gut, not knowing how close the fire was to them. The two ran out of the house and saw bright flames licking up the sides of the barn down the street. Merlin instantly started sprinting towards the barn, ignoring his mother’s shouts. There could be someone trapped in there. 

Sure enough, as he approached, he heard a muffled yell from inside. He ran towards the door but the wind changed and threw searing flames at him. Covering his eyes with his arm he stumbled backwards. The yelling inside continued and Merlin frantically looked for another way in. By the third scream he couldn’t take it any longer. Throwing both hands in front of him, his magic rushed forward and shot out of him like a bolt of lighting. The wood around the floorboards started to snap and creak, then the whole flaming barn began lifting from the ground. Inside, the stalls were alight, but he could see a terrified girl standing in the center trying to avoid the fire the best she could. Once the barn was high enough, the girl tore out from underneath it to safety. The building was now hovering in the sky, creating a terrifying inferno above the ground. Merlin, sweating from the heat and exhaustion of using so much magic at once, couldn’t hold the barn any longer. He let it fall and collapse, causing a sound so loud it made his ears ring. He too fell to his knees in front of the wreckage. 

“Merlin!” His mother quickly pulled him to his feet and got him away from the fire. Once he was turned around his heart stopped. The whole village was crowded outside, and had seen what he had done. All of them looked in horror at what had just happened. The girl he saved was now crying in the arms of her distressed mother. Her sobbing was clearly heard over the quiet murmur of the crowd. His own mother gripped his arm so tightly it hurt.

Finally, it was Simmons that stumbled to the front of the crowd and spoke up. 

“You are a  _ sorcerer. _ ” He growled out the word sorcerer as one would say monster, and jabbed a finger at him. Merlin could see the hatred in his eyes. He looked around and could see how everyone looked at him with fear in their eyes. Women were pulling children closer to them, as if afraid that he might lash out at them. Merlin felt panic rise in his chest. He had never hurt anyone, and now they looked at him as if he had started the fire himself. Just then, Will burst forth from the crowd. 

“He just saved someone’s life! You’re a bloody idiot if you say anything to him but thank you.” Will positioned himself between Merlin and the crowd. 

“He is a danger to this village!” The old man hollered back. Merlin now deeply regretted every prank he had ever done to him, not that being nice to him would have helped him in this situation in any way. He saw Will grit his teeth and tense up at the old man’s claim. Merlin could tell he was going to throw a punch any second, he was going to defend him just like when they were kids.

“Will! Stop, you’ll only make things worse!” He yelled, voice horse from the smoke. Will stayed his ground, looking murderous, “ _ Will, _ ” Merlin begged, tears stinging in his eyes. Will tore himself from his position before the old man and stomped up close to Merlin.

“If you don’t defend yourself now they’ll never stop treating you like shit.” He said through gritted teeth. Frustration and disappointment filled his face.

“If I try to defend myself for using magic, they’ll find any excuse they can to hang me,” Merlin spat back. Will was not understanding the depth of the situation. “This is far beyond hurt feelings, Will.” 

Will paled in response and then marched into the night not saying another word. 


	4. Chapter 4

The last day was hard. Merlin didn’t like thinking about it. Seeing his mother upset was the worst part. He hugged her over and over again whenever tears started pooling in her eyes. 

After his last goodbye with his mother, he briskly walked to the edge of the village. Will was sitting on the fence, staring out at the path that Merlin would take to Camelot. He hadn’t seen him since the previous night. Will was extremely angry at everyone, especially Merlin, at the decision of him leaving. It had been a rather merciful suggestion from Simmons and Merlin’s mother was too afraid for Merlin’s safety not to agree. 

“You don’t have to go, you know that?” Will said firmly. He still didn’t look at Merlin, but his voice no longer held any venom from the last time they had spoken. 

“We both know that’s not true.” Merlin walked around the fence gate to face him.

“Yes it is. I’ll fight anyone who says it isn’t. I’ll take down that old asshole myself if I have to.” 

Will hung his head and shook it side to side in disbelief, “Shit Merlin,” after a moment he looked back up and met his gaze again, “I’d fight the whole damn village to keep you here.” He jerked his head away again, trying to hide the tears threatening to leave his eyes. 

“I never doubted that. But maybe fighting would only prove to them what they want to see,” Merlin gently suggested.

“Fuck it- I’m going with you then.” Will hopped off of the fence and quickly turned towards the houses, probably thinking he could join Merlin if he packed quickly enough before he could argue against it. Merlin just sighed and grabbed his wrist before he got out of reach. 

“Will. You know you can’t leave your mother and sisters alone like that” 

“They’ll be fine, Clarissa runs this whole place, and they have Tyb to look after them.”

“Clarissa  _ thinks  _ she runs this town and Tybalt’s only seven summers, I wouldn’t trust him with a sharp trowel, much less with the responsibility of watching out for his family.” Will sighed and rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the obvious consequences before his eyes. 

“If you won’t stay behind because of your own family, then at least stay and keep an eye on my own mother for me.” Will hesitated, Hunith was very dear to him. “I need you to promise me that you’ll make sure she’ll be alright.” Merlin swallowed hard, trying in vain to get the lump in his throat to go down. This was already difficult, and now Will was making it damn near impossible. Will must have seen the conflict in his eyes and unhappily relented. 

“You better write to me every week,” Will demanded.

“Every week! Do I look like I could afford that much parchment!?” 

“Write small enough and we can use the same piece until the winter solstice.”

“We’ll be writing on the envelope by then.”

“So then we’ll just have to write on the envelope.”

They looked hard at each other for a moment. They couldn’t draw on the goodbye forever. 

“You better visit soon.”

“I’ll try.”

They paused again. Will fidgeted, not quite ready to leave. 

“There are a lot of stuck up city folk in Camelot, who think that they are better than everyone else. If any of them tries to mess with you, just let them know exactly who you are and that you don’t answer to snot nosed clotpoles. I’m serious Merlin, you better not get pushed around by any of those dollopheads, or I will personally come and beat their cocky asses myself.”

“Thanks Will. And you know I can stand up for myself,” Merlin let his eyes briefly flash gold and smiled, wanting to make Will feel better. He looked as rotten as Merlin felt. The two stared at each other for a second longer, then Will jumped at Merlin and pulled him into a lung-crushing embrace. Merlin held on tight and tried to memorize the moment before it was over. Both of their eyes were wet when they split. Before Merlin could change his mind he turned and started down the path to Camelot, leaving his best friend and everything he knew behind. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you so much for reading!  
> This is my second fic for willappreciationfest on tumblr!  
> This is also my second fic with multiple chapters, so comments, constructive or otherwise are greatly appreciated!!


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